Bozinovic and Lovric attended the assuming of duty of the new Commander of the Army

General Repinc, based on the constitutional and statutory authority and the proposal of the Chief of General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Drago Lovric and with the consent of the Minister of Defence Davor Bozinovic, was appointed by the President of the Republic of Croatia Ivo Josipovic, and the appointment came into force on 11 July 2011.

Defence Minister Davor Bozinovic said that the Croatian Army awaits important tasks, but the Armed Forces know how to identify and select excellent people who were capable to execute these tasks.

In his address, Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Drago Lovric said that because of previous successful work, exceptional professionalism and devotion to military vocation and to the Armed Forces, and his experience and wide knowledge, general Repinc demonstrated readiness to take command of the Croatian Army. General Lovric requested him to continue to build a system that will at all times be able to protect national interests and the interests of each individual. The system in which advancement would be based on achievements and in which we will comply with the general principles of work based on legality, professionalism and transparency.

The new Army Commander Lieutenant General Repinc thanked the Chief of Staff on the trust, the Minister of Defence on support and the Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces for the appointment. He said that he expected that members of the Army Command and of subordinate units of the Croatian Army would support him in implementation of all planned tasks and activities, primarily in the implementation of strategic documents – the Strategic Defence Review and CAF Long-term Development Plan, in the field of international military cooperation, international cooperation and participation in peacekeeping operations and missions.

Major General Dragutin Repinc was born in 1959 in Zagreb. He graduated from the Army Military Academy, Command and Staff College at the Croatian Military Academy “Petar Zrinski”, and Command and Staff College of the U.S. Army as the first Croatian officer. During his career he held a number of responsible functions, including Chief of Staff of the Croatian Army and Chief of the Planning Directorate of the General Staff. In the period 2005-2007 he was the Commander of the UN UNMOGIP mission in India and Pakistan, and had thus become the first Croatian officer who commanded the mission of the United Nations. For his work he was decorated several times.